In its recent mid-year budget modification the de Blasio administration credited a coalition of municipal employee unions with achieving $1.3 billion in savings in the City’s employee and retiree health insurance costs. Yet the unions have not agreed to any changes in the plan, and the City and the unions have taken no actions to reduce costs. How can this be?

Summarizes findings from a GAO report indicating the federal agency administering disability pensions for those workers had not done enough to prevent a repeat of a widespread fraud scheme by LIRR employees uncovered in 2008.

Last week five bills on CBC’s Benefit Sweetener Scorecard passed one house of the State Legislature. The most expensive bill (A7862/S5644) was passed in the Senate and would increase pension benefits for SUNY police officers to half-pay after 25 years.

This letter suggests guidelines for effective implementation of the agreement between the City and the Municipal Labor Committee to generate $3.4 billion in health care savings between fiscal years 2015 and 2018.